Commercial airports throughout the world have become extremely busy as air traffic has increased. Many airports may not have sufficient landing or gate facilities to accommodate all of the aircraft scheduled to arrive and take off from the airport, particularly if there is a deviation from the flight schedule. Moving aircraft efficiently on the ground, first between landing and the gate or other landing facility to discharge passengers and cargo and then from the gate to the runway for take off, can pose challenges. Most aircraft currently require external tow vehicles or tugs to move them into or out of a gate or other landing facility. The aircraft's jet engines may also be used to help move the aircraft into or away from a gate. Both of these methods, while useful for moving aircraft, have disadvantages. Tow vehicles may not always be available for all aircraft when needed, especially when air traffic is heavy. The lack of availability of a tug or tow vehicle has the potential to delay significantly the aircraft's arrival at or departure from a gate. Waiting during such delays can be especially frustrating for passengers and crew. It is possible to back an aircraft away from a gate using the engine's reverse thrust. This process is generally prohibited, however, because reverse thrust engine operation picks up foreign object debris (FOD) and directs FOD from the engine toward the gate, airport terminal, and everything in between.
If an aircraft's main jet engines' thrust is used to move it into the gate or on the ground, fuel consumption, engine emissions, and noise are significant concerns. Moreover, engine maintenance demands for this type of aircraft ground movement tend to be high. The use of motors separate from the aircraft jet engines' thrust to move aircraft on the ground can overcome these problems.
It has been suggested that aircraft can be moved on the ground by the connection of a motor to an aircraft nose wheel or drive wheel, thus avoiding the use of a tow vehicle or the aircraft engine turbines. U.S. Pat. No. 3,977,631 to Jenny and U.S. Pat. No. 7,445,178 to McCoskey et al disclose, respectively, a wheel drive system to facilitate aircraft ground handling and propulsion based on a modification of the wheel brake assembly and a powered nose aircraft wheel system that includes a geared motor with an automated control system. The systems described in these patents represent a general solution to the problem of moving an aircraft into and out of a gate or other landing facility without external assistance. They do not, however, suggest an independent integrated system for controlling the unassisted ground movement of an aircraft between landing and takeoff that ensures safe and efficient aircraft ground navigation.
The prior art describes hybrid aircraft vehicles adapted to be flown in the air and to be driven on the ground like an automobile. U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,701 to Bullard; U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,173 to Lay; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,541 to Pham, for example, disclose such vehicles. While these vehicles may function as aircraft, their movement on the ground is controlled by automobile type transmissions and engines. Lay describes the use of wheel motors, but does not suggest other components of an integrated aircraft ground control system that operates independently of other systems. The structural design considerations and control systems required to maneuver an aircraft safely and effectively between landing and take off in an airport setting, moreover, are quite different from those required to move an automobile on a road. None of the foregoing patents suggests that the structures described therein could function effectively to move aircraft that are not hybrid vehicles, nor is an integrated aircraft ground movement control system for controlling ground movement between landing and takeoff in a conventional aircraft even remotely contemplated.
In published U.S. Patent Application No. US/2009/026197A1, Cox et al describe a nose wheel control apparatus for driving a taxiing aircraft. While this control apparatus can effectively move the aircraft on the ground, an independent control system that integrates and controls all aircraft and system components required to move an aircraft on the ground between landing and takeoff without mechanical assistance from a tug or tow vehicle is not disclosed.
The prior art, therefore, fails to provide an independent integration and control system for controlling mechanically unassisted aircraft ground navigation that safely and effectively integrates and controls all aircraft and control system components required to move an aircraft on the ground between landing and takeoff.